The Phrase Finder defines this idiom as meaning a burdensome possession that creates more trouble than it is worth. Albino elephants were considered holy in ancient Thailand. A subordinate who displeased the Thai King would be given a white elephant, and the cost of the special food and providing access to worshipers would often ruin the person receiving the gift.
Radiation What It Is, What You Need to Know
This is an excellent book for both student and adult readers by Robert Peter Gale, M. D., PH. D. and Eric Lax. Gale is a scientist and physicist who has been involved in treating victims from every major nuclear accident in the past twenty-five years. Lax is an author of non-fiction books. Together they have written a book that is factual and easy to read, and that does not push any political position. My one complaint is the lack of an index. The authors provide a fine discussion of topics including terminology, medical issues, irradiation of food, how people access risk, and discussions of several high-profile incidents (including Hiroshima, Chernobyl, and Fukushima). They have written an excellent reference book, including a website with links to articles on their main topics, and an index would make it easier to use.
The authors say “we live in a sea of radiation… Because radiation touches every aspect of our lives – it is, in fact, responsible for our lives – it is essential to know what radiation is, how it works and what it can and cannot do.” People “know very little about radiation… [and] most of us are unaccustomed to carefully weighing competing risks and benefits.” They address topics we read about in the media: nuclear power and power plant accidents, fallout from nuclear bomb tests, food irradiation, cancer, and birth defects.
The authors are concerned that people’s fears are disproportionate to the risks. People worry about the wrong things and can, therefore, ignore real risks. For example, people should not worry about radiation from their TVs or cell phones, but should worry about radiation from medical procedures and, in some areas, radon gas in their homes. Continue reading
AARP and Social Security
Vincent Carroll had a wonderful opinion piece in the March 17, 2013 Denver Post about the powerful organization’s adamant resistance to doing anything to change Social Security. I suggest you read the entire article. It was inspired by the flood of radio ads bought by AARP to oppose a suggested change in the way cost-of-living increases are calculated. Mr. Carroll points out that the change would have reduced the growth of a $1,000/month benefit that began in 2002 from the current total of $1,309/month to $1,263. Continue reading
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
This is another book recommended to me by my wife. Her recommendation once again led me to read a fascinating book. However, she continues to recommend books that don’t have a happy story or ending.
This book by Rebecca Skloot introduced me to a subject I hadn’t read about before. The book begins by describing how a doctor treating Henrietta’s cervical cancer shaved samples from cancerous and noncancerous areas. He gave the samples to George Gey, who had built a laboratory out of spare parts and had worked unsuccessfully for years to grow malignant cells outside the body. The cells were taken without Henrietta Lacks knowledge or permission and were labeled “HeLa.” Cells from the cancerous tumor began to replicate at an enormously rapid rate. When Gey finally determined that his lab had grown the “first immortal human cells” he began sharing samples with colleagues. The word spread and Gey was sending samples all over the country and then the world. A huge medical research industry was developed to grow cells and use them in experimentation that has resulted in the cure to many diseases. There is no way of knowing how many of Henrietta’s cells have been grown but it is estimated that there are several tens of metric tons. Continue reading
Raise Cain
The Phrase Finder explains that the expression means to cause trouble or create an uproar. The verb “to raise” has been used to mean “to conjure up and to cause a spirit to appear.” If you are making trouble you are raising or conjuring up “…the accursed spirit of Cain” who had murdered his brother Abel.
Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmosphere
Those who advocate that there is global warming caused by the activities of man are eager to find any measurement that gives them hope their ideas are correct. There were news reports that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere “surged” from 2011 to 2012. Carbon dioxide concentrations did increase 2.42 parts per million to just under 395 parts per million by the end of 2012/ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that increase was the highest since 1998, “…which saw a rise of 2.93 ppm.”
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/geekquinox/global-carbon-dioxide-levels-show-biggest-spike-15-131534825.html
The inference is that we are on a destructive path to global warming because of man’s insistence on burning fossil fuels. There are so many misleading aspects that it is difficult to know where to begin. Meteorologist Bill Collins warned against taking too much from the recent data. He gave some facts that would give hope to global warming advocates, such as his acknowledgment that 2012 was a “hot year.” He then observed that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is strongly influenced by plant activity, since plants use carbon dioxide as a food. He wrote that “…year to year variability is often caused by uptake of plants and trees.” Continue reading